Celebrate the Freedom to Read

So far, we still have that freedom in America.  Banned Books week is coming up and this year it runs from September 27 to October 3 2015 in the United States.  This is about the freedom to express ideas, even the unpopular ones.  Where would we, as writers, be without that?  No one should be censored because, just like the TV with its off switch, you don’t have to open a book’s cover.

Thanks to librarians, publishers, teachers, readers and a group of others that come together in support of our freedoms to make the choice of what to read, Banned Books week is brought to the publics attention every year.  If you want to get involved, you can contact the office of intellectual freedom at 1-800-545-2433 ext 4220 or by email at bbw@ala.org.

For a list of banned books click here.  Follow the links on the page for several articles and lists.

Most of the reasons books are banned is because they contain one of the following: an unconventional viewpoint, drugs, smoking, alcohol, offensive language, too much sex and nudity, rape, homosexuality, gambling, controversial political or religious views, occultism, political correctness, bullying, etc.

I think, as adults, we can make up our minds about what we want to read and what’s appropriate for our children to read.  I wouldn’t want to leave this decision to anyone else to make for me.

There are some great classics on this partial list.  How many of you have read some of these books and how did they influence you, other than being a good story?  For the life of me, I have no idea why some of these are banned.  There are so many books all over the bookshelves in stores or online today with similar scenes in them, so why pick these?

The Great Gatsby

The Catcher in the Rye

The Grapes of Wrath

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Color Purple

Ulysses

Beloved

The Lord of the Flies

1984

Lolita

Of Mice and Men

Catch 22

Animal Farm

A Farewell to Arms

As I Lay Dying

The Sun Also Rises

Invisible Man

Gone with the Wind

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest

The Call of the Wild

A Clockwork Orange

The Lord of the Rings

Lady Chatterley’s Lover

In Cold Blood

Rabbit, Run

Sons and Lovers

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Even Harry Potter was on this list for a while and so was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Amazing isn’t it, the way some people try to save us from ourselves.  The best thing we can do is to read these books and help to educate those who haven’t read them.  They’re missing out on some great literature.

To read this article and for more resources, click here.